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[99sil-teg]

So I had an e30 last year which I sold (stupidly) and got another Integra. After searching for the right e21, e30 or mk1 I had just about given up but then Thursday I out of no where found one. Figured I'd introduce the car and also have a little update/build thread. If this is the wrong forum just lmk.

the old e30.



Now to the new e21.

Vehicle Info
Car's Name:
Year: 1983
Make: BMW
Model: 320i
Chasis: e21
Generation: 1st Gen 3 series
Color: Baltic Blue
Purchase Date: 5/31/2012
Purchase Location: St Joseph, MO

Drivetrain
Engine Code:
Displacement (liters):
Compression Ratio:
Wheel Horsepower:
Transmission:
Clutch:
Power Adders:
Intake:
Other Engine Mods:
Chip/ECU:

Suspension
Struts/Shocks:
Drop / FTG:
Spring Type/Rate:
Sway Bars: OEM
Other Suspension Mods:
New Lower Control Arms

Interior
Seating: OEM E21 Grey Cloth Recaros
Headliner:
Pedals:
Safety Mods:
Dash/Console:
Stereo:
– Deck
– Speakers: Polk Audio
– Amp(s):
– Players:
Other Interior Mods:
E12 Window Cranks
Swapped Black Door Cards
E28 Center Console
Momo E21 Hub
Momo Woodgrain Wheel
Hartge Woodgrain Knob
Early E21 Accordian Shift Boot
OEM Black Floor Mats

Exhaust
Brand/Type:
Downpipe:
Catalytic Converter:
Pipe Diameter:
Resonator:
Muffler:
Tips:

Exterior
Front End:
Profile:
Roof:
Boot/Hatch:
Antenna: Deleted
Lighting:
Wheels:
– offset:
– spacers/adapters:
– Tires:
Body Kit:
Shaved Parts:
Other Body Mods:
E12 Chrome Door Handles
Replaced Tailight Lenses
Front Bumper Tucked
Rear Sidemarker Lenses Replaced

Soapbox
Personality: Classy and Clean
Zip Ties: 0
Junk in the Trunk: Zero.. oh a 70's skateboard and new front shocks lol
Previous Owner:
Other cool stuff: My Simply Clean Air freshener
What do you love most: The feel of an old bimmer gives you when driving it
Future Plans: So much. Drop, Wheels, and Semi restore. Keeping it period correct as possible

1983 320i 216k







Runs and Drives pretty well, and is in pretty good condition considering its from Missouri and most everything is full of rust.

Only issues I've noticed so far is a oil leak (small one), starts getting warm after sitting at an idle for awhile (if its like an e30 I'm thinking fan clutch) and it has this weird issue with starting, sometimes it fires right up and other times it cranks for awhile... all of that will be getting checked out shortly though.

e30's have been bringing a ton around here so finding this one for what I got it for was surprising to me and I've been happy with it so far (plus I love driving it).

That was all about a week ago, Just had a latch break so I went to the yard for one plus some other goodies. So far I'm just replacing small stuff before I worry about a drop and wheels. Overall goal is to get it road ready to make the 15 hour drive to sowo next year as this year was my first time and had a blast but no car to take.

My take from my recent trip to the yard (car was pretty much all trashed sadly)

[FunfGang]

Nice pickup Looking forward to progress.

[99sil-teg]

So far it's been just fixing stuff so nothing exciting yet.

Replaced the door latch and adjusted the door on Monday since it didn't line up due to the adjustments the PO made. Also pulled the wheels to have tires put on them. Ordered some new hoses and o rings yesterday and ordering a half shaft after work today. Also will be replacing the grill and kidneys soon since mine are cracked and I found replacements. Just trying to decide if I want to stick with chrome kidneys or paint em black.

[jlaffo91]

love e21's. mine had the exact same problem with idling hot and not always wanting to start. it always did it when it was already warm. never figured out what it was. looking forward to progress. sub'd.

[99sil-teg]

So I got a new shift knob, used oem wood one. Very pumped to get my hands on one. Also bought a couple other small things that will probably be here next week. Still waiting on o-rings to show up and probably flush the radiator this weekend as well.

[99sil-teg]

Got my shift knob installed today, love how it looks but I need to mess with the shift boot to make it look a little better.



Then I replaced the grills, kidneys, and washed the inside and outside of the turn signal lenses. Might end up going back to chrome once I find one in good shape. Here is a before and after.






Next up is a front bumper tuck and fixing the hood soon. Also going to rebuild the shifter soon and might go with a Z3 shifter.

[CubbyChowder]

cool, looks like you're going to take good care of it. I think the chrome kidneys looked better, but it looks good either way. In for more progress

[99sil-teg]

Originally Posted by CubbyChowder

cool, looks like you're going to take good care of it. I think the chrome kidneys looked better, but it looks good either way. In for more progress

Yeah the more I see pics the more I agree lol, I had two sets of kidneys but both were in poor shape in person so I'll probably track down a nice pair and put chrome back on. Its a slow build since my wife and I are in the middle of selling our current house to buy another so I'm just worried about making it nice and doing some maintenance.

[yurotrash]

What will your diving board solution be?

[99sil-teg]

Originally Posted by yurotrash

What will your diving board solution be?

Temporary will be doing a tuck on the front and trimming the trim and I don't know if I'll tuck the back yet. Eventually I'll be doing euro bumpers but since those are 600+, wheels and a drop will be coming before I start looking for those. I don't really mind tucked DB's or I might remove the front one for a bit to see how it looks but I doubt I'll keep it that way. Another option is a front valance that eliminates the front bumper... I haven't gotten that far yet so I haven't finalized my plans for that yet.

[99sil-teg]

So sold my other car today so the e21 will be going to daily duty now which also means I'll be playing with it more.

So today I got some e12 goodies for the e21. Chrome handles and chrome cranks as I'm giving this car a more classic or old car feel I've decided. Also picked up a Grant GT Wood Grain wheel which I know its not a Nardi but its way cheaper haha. Now just gotta get a hub.




I've also been looking at the front end of my car and I'm starting to lean pretty heavily towards a single headlight set up even though the dual headlights is a classic styling cue of the 3 series. Thoughts?

[Dirtyhands]

Do single lights ;D

[amichaels]

nice start

[99sil-teg]

Sooooo I've been slacking lol. New to the car is a Momo woodgrain wheel, Momo hub, momo BMW horn(not pictured) and Hartge wood knob. Also have a parts car coming soon so might have some Sport goodies coming like full black interior and some other small things.

[valleydubs82]

Looks good.. I remember wanting your e30 when I saw it om KCH2o

[99sil-teg]

Originally Posted by valleydubs82

Looks good.. I remember wanting your e30 when I saw it om KCH2o

Haha thanks, yeah I miss that car, its off running around in Kansas somewhere. Last I saw it was in Wichita.

[valleydubs82]

Originally Posted by 99sil-teg

Haha thanks, yeah I miss that car, its off running around in Kansas somewhere. Last I saw it was in Wichita.

Really...?.. That's where I live lol... Have to keep an eye out for it

[99sil-teg]

Today I picked up a parts car, 82 320is. Looks decent from a far but has quite a bit of rust starting and sat for 10 yrs so I'm going to use it to make mine even better. Already pulled the recaro seats which need cleaned pretty bad but hopefully I can get them looking good, also got the front spoiler off as well but it needs some work.

[Steinke]

E21s are so awesome! I had a project 323 for a while
Nice find on the Recaros and front spoiler

[foxtrot wagon]

Originally Posted by 99sil-teg

The Mercedes!! Ahhhhh

Is that a Ponton??

[99sil-teg]

Originally Posted by foxtrot wagon

The Mercedes!! Ahhhhh

Is that a Ponton??

I believe so, its a 58 Benz 219, I don't know a lot about Mercedes. My dad and I pulled it out of a guys barn. Its all there but has a seized up motor. We'll actually be selling it soon once we pick up the motor and trans from the guy (haven't had time yet).

[99sil-teg]

So today I started on pulling the parts car apart mainly pulling the interior out and see what all I had. The recaros I got pulled out last night but were in need of major cleaning. The rear seat ended up being trash as the sun had ruined it. But the black door panels, recaros and oem floor mats were all good enough. I'll also be swapping over the carpet but that will be down the road when I replace my driver floor pan.

The Before


The After (They still need to be cleaned even more or I might just have them redone)


Now to the interior



For now I'll be running my blue rear seat until I find one in good condition in either black or grey cloth. I also have a hood to put on mine (after its painted) and some other things in better shape. Eventually the motor will be going in mine as well and the tranny in the parts car will be going in my dad's which he picked up a couple days ago.

[99sil-teg]

Well, planned on doing more today since I finally had a free day but of course... I woke up not feeling good lol. So I just did a few easy things and washed the car but I have some updates! Will be doing LCA's on monday finally so the car should be good to start road tripping to some local stuff before the end of the show season. Now on to pretty pictures.

First up, I put in a accordion style boot from an early e21 just because I think they look better.


Then I changed out the tail light lenses and also the rear sidemarker lenses. Mine were cracked so I swiped the nicer ones off my parts car.




Then this showed up in the mail!


Also went back to chrome kidneys because after looking at the car more I started ****** the black ones lol. Also cleaned it up and took some crappy shots lol.





Also one of the fleet, the green one is actually my dad's who bought one after driving mine haha, the white car is our donor and we are buying a fourth tomorrow... just hoarding them all lol.

[DannyE32]

nice E21 collection lol.

why the E21s didnt come out with the 2.0 in-line 6 carbd in the US? I had a german e21 with the I-6 carburator and alpina gearbox, and it was such a fun thingto drive.. how is that 4 cyl in comparison?

[99sil-teg]

Originally Posted by DannyE32

nice E21 collection lol.

why the E21s didnt come out with the 2.0 in-line 6 carbd in the US? I had a german e21 with the I-6 carburator and alpina gearbox, and it was such a fun thingto drive.. how is that 4 cyl in comparison?

No clue, they should have but its pretty common to see M20's swapped into these. My M10 is a dog buuttt it does have 250k and is leaking some oil lol. Fresh rebuild is going in over the winter so I can make it to Sowo 13 (16hr drive for me one way). The white parts car will be giving me a motor and the tranny will go to my dad's. After this winter it will be a whole other car since it will have a fresh motor and I'm putting a limited slip diff.